Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Tweak ingredients as needed. If you have a warmer constitution or heat issues, omit the ginger.

Add the burdock, dandy and astragalus to 2 cups of water in a saucepan with lid. Simmer on low for 1-2hrs. Do not rush this. A nice long and steady decoction is needed to pull out the inulin and polysaccharides wanted. Add the fennel and ginger for the last 20 minutes of decoction only.

Strain the herbs. I ended up with approximately 1 cup of liquid at this point. I then ran the spent roots through my juicer and added that extra few tablespoons of sediment-heavy liquid to my decoction. Personally, I think this step is very important, but not absolutely essential.

Let it cool just a bit, then add 1/2c or less raw honey. I used closer to 1/4c as I want to taste the herbs more than the honey. Bottle and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Enjoy liberally!

I take a tablespoon a few times a day, but especially at night with my probiotic supplement. The flavor is earthy and sweet and pleasing to almost anyone's palate.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

So I've been busy. Busy raising children, busy with spring gardening and wildcrafting, and most of all busy gestating. I am entering my fifth month of pregnancy, and my 7yr anniversary of being pregnant and/or breastfeeding is coming up. Things are getting serious :) Each pregnancy has had profound effects on my body, leaving me deficient in many ways. This bonus baby (read: unplanned) has really helped me prioritize and put my own health and healing first. Still recovering from adrenal fatigue and the damage done by lifelong food intolerances, my compliance to protocol and healing efforts have been redoubled.

Science has shown us time and again that the time spent in the womb and the health of the mother greatly shape the future health of the babe within. Children are not born with radiant health unless the mother is equally as healthy and robust. If the mother's gut integrity is compromised by food intolerance, or if adrenal and thyroid health is not optimal, neither will the be the baby's. We must take care to nourish and balance before conception if possible.

My children are proof positive of this "new" science. My oldest two have a laundry list of food intolerances (though we have made immense progress and have recently introduced previously problematic foods) and appear to function in a purely sympathetic nervous state with adrenal deficiency. At the time they lived in my womb I had adjusted my diet to be deeply nourishing, but had not yet begun to recognize or address my own food sensitivities. My son is a bit hardier, but has had some mild digestive issues since infancy (first manifested as acid reflux which we quickly dealt with by eliminating problematic foods and demulcent herbs like marshmallow). It was in his infancy that I discovered my own food intolerances and intestinal damage and begun the path of healing. His central nervous system appears to be much more stable as a result.

I have long since adopted a nourishing traditional diet suitable for pregnancy, generally free of wheat and dairy, but I have found that I am able to reintroduce pastured raw milk, cheese, butter and yogurt mostly from local sources with much satisfaction and no ill effect. Otherwise, my diet most easily categorized as paleo. Simply put, I follow a low carb, high protein and high fat diet. I eat plenty of veggies, just limit fruit and honey, and do not eat high starch foods like white potatoes and grains or cane sugar. My blood sugar and energy stay stable this way, my endocrine system, brain and gut are well nourished and healed with all the healthy fats I consume. Right now, I'm eating nearly an entire stick of butter in the course of one day! This diet has proven to sustain me and my developing little ones without excessive weight gain on my part, but a nice amount of chub on the babes. I will admit that it has been an uphill battle to maintain health and correct deficiency despite my conscientious eating.

I often consume a gut healing tea, generally comprised of plantain, calendula and sometimes marshmallow, for calming, toning and healing my intestinal mucosa. I have always taken probiotic supplements and eaten cultured foods, but have certainly increased the quantity as well as introduced a delicious inulin and polysaccharide rich syrup of dandelion, burdock, astragalus and fennel that feed and support the growth of good bacteria in my intestine. This blend also nourishes my liver and blood, which I am also deficient. In western terminology, we often describe this as anemia or low red blood cell count, but that is viewing the imbalance symptomatically, not wholistically. Quite simply, for various reasons I need more blood, and now that I am pregnant that need is even greater. Burdock and astragalus are great liver and blood nourishers. I also consume organ meats and lots of red pigmented foods (like beets) for this purpose. I take various herb infused vinegars before or with my meals to enhance digestive fire and protein assimilation.

In addition, I drink daily infusions of nutritive herbs, like oatstraw, nettle, red raspberry, red clover and horsetail (no, I do not feel concerned with the use of red clover during pregnancy). On occasion I prepare these as simples, but generally I enjoy a combination. And though the weather is getting much warmer, I enjoy the occasional mug of oatstraw based chai tea. It is still delicious in the morning :)

Additionally, I do include adaptogenic herbs to strengthen my endocrine system (especially adrenals) and digestion. Right now I am taking a lovely blend by Sean Donahue of Brighid's Well Herbs that is named Deep Forest Elixir. It contains reishi, schizandra, astragalus and turmeric as well as other warming and diffusive herbs. I have been enjoying this for months now and feel like I have a stronger foundation of health. I also like to add some lovely nourishing nervines like milky oats and rose on a regular basis. I often carry around my Open Heart blend of Holy Basil and Rose for acute situations. It always elevates my heart and consciousness. This is certainly my preferred state during pregnancy, as a parent, and well, as a human, too.

What may do the greatest good in my protocol is the new early bedtime. Sometimes I am so fatigued I collapse into bed, but recently it has taken a bit of self-discipline to get myself in bed BEFORE 11pm. I aim for sleep by 10:30. In a house of chaos that hustles and bustles all day, I am often tempted by late nights of solitude. Now that I get myself to bed at a proper restful time, my body often wakes itself between 7 and 8am and I can get a few moments in the garden or with a book before kids are up and requesting breakfast. This is a first in my life, as I have never been a morning person, but I have also never been an early to bed type either.

I do not think the occasional and brief yoga practice I manage to sneak in here and there hurts, either. It helps with the discomfort of my pelvic floor muscles, lower back and ligaments as well as providing me a bit of deep rejuvenative breathing and a calm center to approach my day. I keep the yoga mat out in my bedroom at all times to encourage use, however brief.

I tell my story and protocol as an example of how healing and pregnancy can happen simultaneously. We can nourish ourselves deeply and give our babes a good start even when caught by surprise in a state of deficiency. I have faith in the resilience of the body if given some tools and half a chance. These ideas can be used as guidelines, but keep in mind that diet and herbs have been carefully chosen to suit my constitution and tissue states and may not be right for others. Herbal protocol is not a 'one size fits all' sort of cure. If you are unsure, certainly seek the guidance of a knowledgeable herbalist.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

I was recently interviewed for a brief peice on herbal medicine for our local radio station. Of course, I spoke of the role of invasive species in nature and herbalism because they are at the forefront of my study and practice these days. Without doubt, my acceptance of these plants in our environment raised a small bit of controversy among those who feel we should try to eradicate these plants in order to restore our native ecosystem here in the Southeast where invasives are especially problematic.

Our romantic notion of an untouched native ecosystem is but a snapshot, a single moment in time. How did the same ecosystem manifest 1000 yrs prior? Before that? We accept those changes as the Earth's natural cycles, but once Western Man hit the scene the changes become much less acceptable to most. I think our ego requires that we be more than just part of the plan and that we have much more control over our environment than we really do. The moment Europeans hopped off of their boats onto this continent, bringing with them scads of foreign plants (whether intentional or on boot heels), the native ecosystem disappeared. It became the past.

The past...as much and as often as I like to visit that place in time, I can not turn myself towards it, trying to force it into reality once again. Nature isn't looking back. She is not trying to recreate or preserve her past, but moves forward on a winding path. One that we can not see the end of, if it indeed exists. We are on the same path, and can we not move forward with her or will we be left behind?

Our ideas and desires can not hold the universe static. Neither can our anger and indignation. No matter our involvement, or how much to "blame" we may be, the Earth is using these so called invasives for her own purposes. We fear the loss of the ecosystem we know. We fear the loss of species. Our fear rises into anger.

Anger can be a great motivator, but turning that anger on ourselves or Nature's intentions can only bring harm, so we must not stop there. As emotions travel up the energetic centers of the body they are transformed. As primal fear turns into visceral anger, so must it continue to move up through the heart center to be transformed into a more positive and healing emotion. Call it Love. Before emotions become action or intention they MUST move through the heart. Too often, this essential alchemy does not take place, and we find ourselves thinking and acting from the "bowels" of our conciousness, fear and anger. What greater good can we do ourselves and our planet than turn our negative emotions into healing love? Has anyone or anything ever been healed by anger or fear?

May the invasive plant species play a healing role for the heart of the Earth as well as our own. Their presence is a moment of choice for us, war or acceptance. A meditation on Love in practice.

Note: i do not want ot leave the impression that i do not acknowlege the damage, to man and earth, of the agro-military-industrial complex. I can not sit in a place of blame and anger, but try to look at the biggest picture I can see, and move forward into a place of healing and peace. This space must be created in our hearts before it can be manifested in the material world.

“When we do listen to the body, we often discover it is telling us to slow down, kick back, and chill out. Were we to surrender to the pace of the body, we might find that it is only asking us to live as we really want to live. How ironic that it takes courage to live the lives we want to live.” Dr. Claudia Welch

Clinical herbalist, dietary therapist, mother of four budding herbalists, homebirther and enthusiastic handcrafter. I am available for consultations, in person and by phone, as well as plant walks and workshops on various topics, herbal and nutritional. See "More About Me" for details :)